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The next phase of implementing our new member support tracking system is possibly one of the most painful because it means the elimination of email-based direct communication in favor of a closed direct web-based communication system (via the EzineArticles INBOX).

The challenge is that 100% of member support needs to funnel into our web-based email tracking system for it to be effective, allow for quality control and escalation rulesets for problem resolution priorities and management reporting.

What the change will be like: support @ EzineArticles as an email address will turn into an autoresponder that will encourage members & users to either log in and contact-us with a web form or use the public contact-us web form if they are not a registered member.

When a member sends in a query via their EzineArticles INBOX, they will get a reply to their inbox. They can then reply to the email and the thread continues until the problem is resolved.

In addition to the other upsides to this 3rd phase of implementation, 40,000+ annual spams will be deflected as we’ll only be responding to real humans, whether they are members or non-members.

Lastly, we’re in the final stages of implementing the ability for our support team to be able to receive and send attachments via the EzineArticles INBOX system… so that authors will be able to upload photos, spreadsheets, PDF’s, MS Word .doc’s or anything to us and we can send attachments (that will be virus scanned before sent automatically) within this new system.

Are there any other downsides to the shut down of our support @ email address we should consider before making this 3rd phase implementation?

There’s another company I work with that does what you are suggesting – emails sent to their support@xyz.com address are sent an autoresponder, encouraging the user to log in to their system and get support in that manner.

It’s a little annoying, quite honestly. It’s a lot easier for me to just send an email. However, if my need is great enough, I will take the time to log in and get the help I need. I tolerate their system, because in every other respect it’s a great company. I don’t know how I would react if I was unhappy with them.

So I can extrapolate and say that I’ll probably be ok with you guys doing it too, since I’m very happy here as a writer.

I can understand why you want to do it – getting rid of the spam alone would be worth it! 40,000+ per year… Yikes! That’s a lot!

Yeah, we’re not complaining about the spam load as that’s the cost of doing business…and I know no one really cares about how much spam we have to filter automatically and by-hand.

I certainly acknowledge that it’s easier to just snap off an email to support… but if we fail to give a reply or the email gets lost in transit or trapped by a filter or any number of reasons, then members won’t be happy.

Should the day come when we have a premium level of member support that is paid, we could reconsider adding additional staff to manage the email direct load.

It all comes down to accountability (us being accountable to our members) and efficiency (we can respond more accurately and more quickly with the new system than with the current half-system).

I am on EzineArticles.com to write articles the more articles I submit the more exposure I get as well as EzineArticles
In order for me to submit my articles I have to log into the system which is where the answer to any email or question I sent you would be.
If I am not writng articles then I am of no benefit to EzineArticles.com and thus not on the system.
If I am of no benefit to EzineArticles then who cares if I dont get my question answered.